Isothermal crystallization behaviors and kinetics of nucleated polylactide/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blend films with talc

Abstract

Polylactide (PLA) and its blend films with and without a compatibilizer in the presence of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and talc were prepared through a twin-screw extruder. The effects of PBAT, talc, and various contents of compatibilizer on thermal and morphological properties as well as crystallization of these blends were investigated. PBAT and talc were used as a flexible polymer and a nucleating agent at 10 mass% and 1 phr, respectively, whereas methylenediphenyl diisocyanate was used as a compatibilizer at different amounts (1-7 mass% based on PBAT contents). Isothermal crystallization behaviors and kinetics of neat and nucleated PLA blends were evaluated by differential scanning calorimeter and polarized optical microscope. The Avrami and Arrhenius equations were used to investigate the crystallization kinetics. The results revealed that the presence of PBAT and talc in the films led to an increment of crystallization rate of PLA via a synergistic effect under isothermal crystallization conditions. However, the crystallization rate significantly decreased with increasing the crystallization temperature (T c ). These results were in agreement with crystallization kinetic and morphological studies, suggesting that the crystallization behaviors, kinetics, and mechanisms of PLA were affected by these factors.

The morphological, mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties of PLA/PBAT blown films with chain extender

“…Melt‐blending PLA in an extruder with other flexible polymers is an excellent method to modify PLA. Poly(lactide acid) was blended with ductile modifiers such as poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate), poly(ε‐caprolactone), poly(butylenes succinate), and poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT) to make fully bio‐based and/or biocompostable materials.…”

Tailor-Made, Linear, and “Comb-Like” Polyester-Based Copolymers: Synthesis, Characterization, and Thermal Behavior of Potential 3D-Printing/Electrospinning Candidates

“…As it is reported in the literature [35,58], isothermal crystallization kinetics can be better visualized by considering the relative degree of crystalline conversion as a function of time at different crystallization temperatures (Figure 7). Then, relative crystallinity, related to the crystalline volume (V c ), vs. different crystallization times (t), can be calculated from [1,32,35,49]…”

“…Isothermal crystallization tests were carried out by using the above-mentioned equipment and by employing sequential steps described as follows: first, samples were heated from 15 to 90°C at 10°C min −1 . Then, they were kept at 90°C during 5 min and rapidly cooled (60°C min −1 ) to selected crystallization temperatures (T c ) according to the methodology reported in previous works [32,34,48,49]. Isothermal crystallization tests were carried out for temperatures between 16 and 24°C, by using 2°C steps.…”

Effects of Branches on the Isothermal Crystallization of Copolymers Based on Poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)

“…In this sense, crystallization of graft copolymers with amorphous and crystallizable blocks is not only of theoretical interest for understanding polymer morphology but also of basic importance in practical operations such as polymer transformation processes. Polymer crystallization is controlled by several factors, such as molar mass, chain flexibility, and nucleating agents, among others . Isothermal crystallization models can be used to quantify the energy barriers associated with the nucleation and crystal growth, as well as crystallization arrangement .…”

“…Polymer crystallization is controlled by several factors, such as molar mass, chain flexibility, and nucleating agents, among others. [21] Isothermal crystallization models can be used to quantify the energy barriers associated with the nucleation and crystal growth, as well as crystallization arrangement. [12,22] Particularly, Avrami's model has been developed based on rather empirical ideas and it is currently applied for polymer crystallization kinetics treatments.…”